by Worryingly, almost a third of women of childbearing age and half of all children do not get enough micronutrients
ATNi has released the fifth edition of the Global Access to Nutrition Index, which ranks the world’s 30 largest food and beverage manufacturers and analyzes over 52,000 products, representing 23 percent of global market share.
According to the results, one in five deaths worldwide is due to poor nutrition. In addition, one in eight adults is considered obese and 150 million children are too small for their age due to inadequate nutrition. What is worrying is that almost a third of women of childbearing age and half of all children do not get enough micronutrients.
The index highlights some key advances: More companies are now setting goals to improve the healthiness of their product portfolios, using internationally recognized Nutrient Profiling Models (NPMs) to classify their products as “healthier.”
However, despite this progress, there has been little to no improvement in key metrics related to the overall health of the product portfolios. At the same time, the estimated sales values of companies’ healthier products have increased, indicating that consumers are increasingly choosing healthier options. In particular, product portfolio health was found to be lowest in low-income countries, highlighting differences in product offerings across different markets and income groups.
Food and beverage manufacturers are aware of their role in influencing consumers’ diets, but bolder action is needed from industry, policymakers and investors to encourage the production of healthier food and promote healthier diets.
